—Draco POV—
I awoke to the soft yellow glow of the sun filtering in through the high windows of our suite. The sheets were nice and cool over my naked body, and there was a warm mass beside me, arms wrapped securely around my waist. I smiled, turning to face Harry, cupping my hand to his cheek.
"Good morning, Love,"
He opened his eyes, soft green meeting light grey. Harry leaned forward for a kiss, and all at once, I fell back into the soft, gentle intimacy of last night.
"Are you sure you're up for it? You don't think you might get hurt or anything?"
"Absolutely."
"Happy Birthday, Draco."
I smiled, leaning back to be able to look at him properly. "It is my birthday, isn't it?"
"It is, and I have something planned that I think you'll enjoy. Something here in Fiji."
"Really? You didn't have to."
"No, but I thought you might enjoy it." He smiled that crooked smile of his that was just so contagious, then he was up like a bolt, so quick that I felt the rush of cold air as it hit me.
"Come now," he said, already putting his pants on. "I don't think you'd want to keep your birthday plans waiting." Just then, Harry sneezed abruptly. I furrowed my brows, slightly taken aback by the suddenness of it.
"Bless you," I responded, bringing my tone up to the volume of his sneeze.
"Thanks," he sniffled. "Now, I'm going to get started on breakfast.
We padded out to the kitchen, noting that Hugo, Rose, and Scorpius were already up, the two older kids playing with Lettuce ("we don't need to bring him on our trip" vs "Yes, we do, he's our cat"). Hugo was on the couch, staring down-eyed at the Muggle telly and its cartoons with his hand in his mouth. From the looks of it, Scorpius and Rose at least had been up for a while.
"Good morning,"
"Hey Dad, Hey Harry."
"Good morning, Draco and Harry."
"Hullo," responded Harry, now in the kitchen and sorting through the food we'd purchased in advance and brought with us. "How long have you been up?"
"Only about an hour," said Rose, with Scorpius nodding beside her.
"Do you all fancy some breakfast?" I began, making my way towards Harry, who was currently opening every single cabinet to find himself a bowl and mixer, as well as a pan. He paused briefly to turn his face in his elbow and sneeze again. My mind briefly questioned why he wouldn't use magic before I swiftly shut it down, not privy to reminding myself about his sickness on a day that had started so nicely.
I swiftly took his waist around my arm and turned him for a gentle kiss, reaching out with my free hand and casting a silent accio to get us a pan. When we separated, Harry looked between me and the pan, before giving a crooked smile that I had to refrain from kissing right off his face. I smiled back.
Thurston Gardens in Fiji is quite magical. In a literal sense. It felt like everywhere I turned there was either a plant essential in potioneering or a shockingly rare one. At one point, we were all passing through a clock tower when a brilliant blue patch of squill caught my eye.
Shockingly enough, that wasn't the only valuable plant found in the gardens, and I nearly had to fight the urge to sneak some of the plants home with me. Wormwood, Puffapod, Moly, and even Dittany were found in high amounts, in the gardens.
It was, overall, quite a peaceful event, minus the fact that Harry sneezed every few minutes, sometimes dissolving into fits of sneezes that wouldn't stop for at least a minute. Everyone had commented on it at least twice except for Ron, who, I noticed, just bore a deeply disturbed expression. Hermione kept asking Harry if he'd developed an allergy to pollen.
Eventually, I was able to catch him alone, speeding up to match his pace before being able to slow down and stay beside him.
"Hey," he exclaimed with a cheerful expression. "How're you enjoying your birthday present?"
"The gardens are magnificent. And, might I add, quite magical. I wouldn't be shocked if there's a Wizarding population here that we don't know about."
"Well, Hermione says that Fiji has a strong British influence. They also follow many of the same religions as us, but more, er... ritualistically? She says that there's probably a Wizarding population that performs magic in the name of their religions, around here."
I raised my eyebrows, surprised at all Harry knew about the subject. I intertwined our hands, slowing down as we approached a small bridge on the walking path.
"Well, thank you, anyway. For the thoughtful gift, for the experience."
"Happy Birthday-" Harry paused, sneezing rather violently off to the side. Two strangers passing turned straight to us. I waved awkwardly.
"Sorry," he began as soon as he was back up, his nose slightly red. I moved to place a small peck on it.
"Don't apologize, it's okay."
"At least it's mundane and I'm not scaring the daylights out of you, I guess."
"Absolutely... Speaking of, that curse hasn't been giving you any extra trouble, right? I mean, nothing you've been hiding?"
Harry turned to me, and I nearly winced at my question, hoping the following wouldn't become explosive. Instead, Harry's features became downturned. He moved to rest his elbows over the edge of the bridge and look out. I did the same.
"Not really. Nothing you don't know about."
"I think there is something-"
"I think that just because I haven't told you, doesn't mean you don't know."
The two of us locked eyes, staying silent for more than a few seconds. Something in my chest squeezed as I pushed away my mind's extreme ideas.
"I think that you're wrong about that. There's still time to figure things out."
Harry sighed, working his jaw and looking back out. I stayed looking at him, studying his profile as he looked less at the scenery and more for something to say.
"I feel it, though."
"That's because the curse has weakened you, but..." that doesn't mean it's over.
"Harry, look at me." He did. I put my hand around his bicep, coming closer, my mind racing for what to say. You aren't allowed to give up hope. I don't think I have enough hope for the both of us. What do I tell the children, if you've given up? We have professionals and people who love you working tirelessly to save you. You need to help them by having some faith.
"I love you."
Harry swallowed, expression grim, and he came forward to wrap his arms around my waist, his chin fitting onto my shoulder. I hugged him back, dipping my head to rest on his shoulder.
"I love you too."
————
—Harry POV—
"-George Austin Woods, an ex-lieutenant of the Royal Navy, managed to influence Cakobau and organize a group of like-minded settlers and chiefs into forming a governing administration. Cakobau was declared the monarch, and the Kingdom of Fiji was established...."
We walked at a slow pace while our tour guide spoke to us, pointing us towards paintings, dioramas, sculptures, and flags that told the history of the Fiji Islands. When I planned this tour, Hemione and Scorpius were the ones on my mind. I was only grateful that Hermione was here today, and that no odd Ministry situation would have pulled her away today.
She listened and observed intently, eyes shining with curiosity especially when history was brought up. Scorpius took more of a liking to the artistic and cultural knowledge, asking questions, especially regarding music, dancing, and ritual, and how they tied into religion. Draco showed just enough interest to seem polite, only occasionally finding information that truly captivated him. I could tell that he enjoyed learning, just not to Hermione's degree. Ron and Teddy kept each other entertained, whispering an odd joke or two, finding random things to keep their attention, at one point even descending into a rather long game of paper, scissors, stone, which even got me and Scorpius invested for several moments as they held a tie-streak lasting 10 rounds.
"It's rather interesting that Fiji's modern government would have existed without British interference, don't you think?" I snapped my head out of my thoughts to find Hermione walking with me behind the rest of the family. I hadn't quite realized I'd fallen behind. We were still close enough to hear the tour guide's words, but far enough to appear detached.
"Yeah. I didn't think they had business this far down. We're a ways from home."
"It does line up with my theory about Wizarding presence, however. We never know if some of the British who moved here in the early times were Wizards. There might be a whole community of Wizards here who are detached from global affairs... who knows how many lost Wizarding communities there are around the world. This is big- especially considering... how many people... we've lost-" she sucked in a breath, the air around us becoming tense.
"You know, Harry... After so many tragedies in our lives, to an extent that feels almost unnatural, it's no wonder we're all a bit- different, perhaps, than we might have turned out. And the amount of loss we've faced has been historic. I'm sure you're aware of the effort the Americans are putting together, asking some of them to move to Wizarding Britain for the time being... to help with the societal collapse linked to the sudden drop in population. It's been all over the Prophet-"
I in fact had no idea that any of that was happening, considering I've been a bit preoccupied with other things, like fighting, healing, dying, and family support. Now even, with the thought of the Prophet, I wasn't sure when the last time I even read it was. And global affairs were the least of my concerns right now, and really ever. The only times I concerned myself with the world was when I fought, and no other time.
"Since Ron and I have a family together, I've been able to observe closely how everything has affected him, you know, considering Charlie, Fleur, and Angelina, then later...
The shop is his, now, did you know? I'm sure Ron mentioned it, at some point. Percy kept the kids since Bill is trying to get used to living without Fleur and since Ron has the shop and I'm the Minister... Ginny and Luna offered to help Percy, but Percy feels some sort of moral obligation, considering everything. But that's beside the point."
I stayed silently beside Hermione, allowing her to speak. It was well known anyway that if she couldn't express her thoughts now, she would later.
"Ron's had it rough, lately, but he's been managing rather well, and I admire him all the more for it. That doesn't change the fact that I know when he's hiding something from me." Hermione stopped walking and turned to look at me. I turned back in shock, not daring open my mouth. Hermione took me gently by the arm and dragged us further away from the group into a small alcove with a bench to sit at. She resumed speaking as soon as we sat down.
"Ron is also pants at hiding things from me because I can figure it out after enough time... he goes pale at the mention of you. Moreso after your talk with him a couple of weeks ago... What did you two talk about?"
I sucked in a breath, my lips forming into a thin line as I looked away from her.
"Nothing that I didn't think was necessary. He's my best mate, Hemione... It was a tough conversation, but an important one."
"He said just about the same thing when I asked him." Hermione's expression had gone all troubled and concerned. Her brows knitted together as her hand found its way to my knee.
"Whatever it is, Harry, you can tell me, if you wish. I know that something is wrong. It helps to let it out. Surely you know that, yes?"
"You know that I see you as a sister, Herm? And Ron as a brother?"
"We see you as a brother, too, Harry. We always have."
"So you know that I won't neglect to tell you something if I think it's absolutely necessary that you know."
Hermione sighed. I turned to see her again.
"You're getting worse. That much is noticeable. Harry, if there's something we should know about your condition..."
I'm dying. It's over. I know you'll tell me not to give up hope.
But it's hard when I feel so... weary.
Against my better judgment, the corner of my mouth twitched. I hesitated.
"Just know that I care about you guys. I love you all and I don't want anything else to hurt you... And don't forget it."
Hermione looked just about to protest when I stood up and went to find the rest of the group, leaving her behind on the bench.